Vintage holiday gifts

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

I hope you all had a very merry holiday. I’m pretty exhausted from all the hustle and bustle this time of year brings. But I only slow down a bit to catch my breath so I can get ready for one of my favorite holidays, New Year’s Eve! But for now I’m going to share a few gifts my husband gave me for Christmas.

You may have figured it out from reading a few other posts that I am an antique lover. A lot of the furniture and decor in my home are antiques. And one of my very favorite things to do is go “antique-ing.” I’m fortunate my husband loves to do the same as well. We could spend hours exploring an antique shop.

Which brings me to the gifts my husband gave me for Christmas. Four out of five of them were antiques and I’m going to share these treasures with you.

These pieces are a necklace and earrings set. My husband told me he asked the staff at the antique store if they had any art deco jewelry. The staff directed him to the booth where he found these gems. The dealer told him she bought the set in the 1980s from another antique shop. I love how bold the colors are and that the necklace pretty much demands attention. It is the perfect art deco piece to display around my décolletage.

My husband did a little research on the second necklace and earrings set. This beautiful necklace and earrings set are by a designer name Miriam Haskell. She was an American designer of costume jewelry. I’m not a stranger to costume jewelry because I have a lot of my grandmother’s costume jewelry. The earrings “screw” and they are what I like to call “ear screws” because that’s how these types of earrings were described to me growing up. This is also another great set that sparkles.

The next two gifts are antique handbags. One is from the Victorian era and has a little wear and tear. I just can’t believe it’s survived all these years. The second handbag is 1930s French art deco. Definitely just as gorgeous as it’s older friend from the Victorian era.

These vintage treasures were a pleasant surprise. I love the fact that my husband gives me antiques for gifts. I hope to give these lovely items the same love their previous owner(s) gave them. 🙂

Do you love antiques as much as me? And has anyone ever given you a vintage gift that you’d like to share?

These items were purchased from Gas Lamp Antiques in Nashville, Tenn.

Bringing sexy (lingerie) back

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

Recently I watched an episode of Showtime’s series, Masters of Sex. The show is set in the 1950s. During the episode, one of the characters is getting ready for work and you see her sitting at her vanity in her undergarments. It dawned on me how the undergarments she was wearing, bullet bra, waist cincher, garter belt and stockings, were such the normal thing to wear under daily attire. Of course I’ve known this for a long time and I have these items myself but it just hit me that wearing these daily have gone by the way side. I am certain there are women in the world that do, but it’s certainly not in every women’s wardrobe. So I thought, why don’t we?

Sure, your comfortability-level may get thrown out the window wearing tight, constricting fabric. But just like putting on a pair of heels for the first time, you’ll get use to the feeling eventually. You didn’t do sprints the first time after putting on a pair of six-inch heels. So it’ll take a few times to get use to wearing these items underneath your clothing. It’s all about taking baby steps before taking the big dive. To me, I love the feeling of sophistication these undergarments give. It makes any skirt or dress slip right on when you have the silky material on. I enjoy wearing dresses and skirts more often than jeans or pants so maybe it’s just more of my preference to include putting on a good fitting waist cincher to smooth out the body.

I feel undergarments have gotten a bad rap over the decades because some may associate it with their “grandmother’s girdle.” I’ll admit, growing up I heard my grandmother on many occasions reference her “girdle.” But whatever you want to call it, our grandmothers knew what was up. Like any kind of accessory you pair with your outfit, these classic pieces of underwear should go wherever you go. Whether it’s the office or date night, sophistication is what these pieces bring.

So I declare we bring these beautiful and sexy garments back. (Queue the Justin Timberlake song).

Wear fabulous underwear even if you are the only person that is going to see it.

Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions. – Coco Chanel

Some companies I recommend if you’re looking for yourself or another:
Secrets in Lace
What Katie Did
Dollhouse Bettie
Agent Provocateur

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Bow ties: A Fabric Smile

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

Let’s all say this together: Bow ties are badass. Don’t you agree? Now that we’ve established that, let’s talk about how bad these little pieces of fabric are.

Bow ties have come a long way since their inception. The dawn of the bow tie rose from the 17th century when Croat mercenaries during the Prussian war tied a scarf around their necks to hold together the top opening of their shirts. Pretty clever. Little did they know they were starting a fashion trend that would span into the future centuries. And we thank them for their practical discovery that spawned our love of this little accessory. This practicality was picked up by the upper classes of the French and then took off in the 18th and 19th century as a fashion accessory.

Pictures of bow ties can be seen throughout the centuries. They have been worn by leaders of our country, magicians, and entertainers. Bow ties have not been strangers to any walk of life. The evolution of the bow tie has tied it’s pretty little self around the necks of all ages, genders and species.

And the bow tie doesn’t associate itself with just those of society prestige. A bow tie can be worn by anyone. From presidents to your neighbor next door, the bow tie doesn’t discriminate. It also doesn’t discriminate against what it is paired with. It is most famous for it’s pairing with the tuxedo but has broken it’s barriers and been a style statement with jeans.

As stated earlier, you can pretty much sum up bowties in one word: badass. They were a more common clothing accessory in early decades and centuries. However, like a watch or pair of earrings, I claim that more people start making this part of their everyday wear. After all, who can resist feeling happy when you see a bow tie? Now for some bow tie eye candy.